• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, June 13, 2016

Meet the next-door neighbors from hell. 

They’re the Cody family of this new TNT drama series called “Animal Kingdom.” And if you live next door to them in their southern California neighborhood, don’t even try to relax because these Codys are a restless, active, noisy bunch.

There’s always a loud pool party going on, drugs being smoked and snorted, and criminal activities in the midst of planning. Through it all, the grown, hunky Cody brothers swagger around the property either semi-nude or totally nude, while their proud mama -- who they refer to by the nickname “Smurf” -- ogles and admires them.

In fact, it seems at times as if nudity is the whole point of this show, which premieres Tuesday night (June 14) on TNT. And just so we’re clear, it is not frontal nudity but rearal (a word I just made up). Full-frontal nudity is still a no-no, apparently.

This is one of those shows that a network -- in this case TNT -- gets behind (no pun intended) in order to recalibrate its brand identity. Look at us, TNT is saying with this show -- we’re edgy now. We’re not just the network of “Castle” and “Law & Order” reruns, and originals such as “The Closer” and its spinoff “Major Crimes” (which starts its fifth season tonight, June 13).

Never mind that the decidedly non-edgy “The Closer” was probably the highest-rated original drama TNT ever put on. We’re going edgy, TNT is insisting with this new show. And if you don’t believe it, just check out “Animal Kingdom,” with its explicit sex scenes and naughty language. If you’re not on edge at any time during the viewing of this show, then by golly, TNT is not doing its job.

The problem is that when it comes to original TV dramas about dysfunctional families, there are some edges that are too edgy to go out on. Or to put it another way, “Animal Kingdom” is a loathsome, wholly unattractive TV show featuring some of the most unlikable characters ever assembled.

With this show, TNT seems to be eager to join TV’s long march of the antiheros -- a trend in TV drama that began, basically, with Tony Soprano and continued in the following years with Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis in “The Shield”), Walter White (Bryan Cranston in “Breaking Bad”), “Ray Donovan” (Liev Schreiber as Donovan) and a slew of others.

So in “Animal Kingdom,” you get a whole family of them. And while some antihero dramas seem to work -- even while giving a viewer an acute case of discomfort (such as when watching “Ray Donovan,” for example) -- “Animal Kingdom” misses the boat entirely.

I watched the first three episodes of “Animal Kingdom” (two of which will be shown back-to-back in its premiere on Tuesday) waiting for it to become interesting. But when the three hours were over, I concluded that watching this show was a pointless exercise.

I found that I couldn’t have cared less about the travails of any of its characters -- from the shirtless, sociopathic brothers (including the shirtless wonder in the photo above -- Finn Cole as 17 year-old Joshua “J” Cody“) to Mama Smurf herself, played by Ellen Barkin.

Many actresses of a certain age would likely relish the opportunity to play a modern-day Ma Barker and tear into the role with all of their teeth. And at least on paper, Barkin seemed like an interesting choice. But her performance is a misfire. You get the feeling that the character is supposed to project a sense of menace, but Barkin’s interpretation of the character is too laid back.

Her portrayal consists mainly of her smirking through the role as she gazes upon her naked sons while they compete with each other in a ceaseless series of macho head games and underwater wrestling contests. Somehow, she exercises considerable mind control over them, but it’s never certain how or why.

Presumably, part of her power stems from just being their mother, which is understandable. But beneath the surface, there are intimations of incest and violence, which may have been an integral part of all of their upbringing.

We learn the complicated history of this family in dribs and drabs throughout the first three episodes, with many blanks in the story still to be filled, perhaps in subsequent episodes. The makers of “Animal Kingdom” might see this device as one that will keep viewers tuned in throughout the season as they become eager to learn more about these macho, shirtless Codys and their matriarch, the smirky Smurf.

Stick around for additional episodes if you wish, but this is summertime and the weather’s too nice to hang around the pool with the sleaziest family in the neighborhood.

“Animal Kingdom” premieres Tuesday (June 14) at 9 p.m. Eastern on TNT.